2007 NASCAR Fantasy Preview: Michigan International Speedway

I missed the whole race on Sunday due to work but I guess I didn’t miss very much. Rain has played havoc with its share of races this year already and we still have a long way to go. Monday races aren’t good for most fans and I am all in favor of trying to run as many races on Saturday night as possible. The make-up day would be Sunday and that should be better for most everyone.

My Pick To Win Michigan

This week we head to Michigan and I am going to pick Mark Martin to win. Give Mark a good car with a lot of power under the hood and he will be there at the end. Mark has won four times at Michigan throughout his career and I have a feeling that this is his week to break out with his first win for Ginn Racing.

Michigan Frontrunners

The toughest teams to beat this weekend for Mark will be his old teammates. Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle have both won at Michigan multiple times during their career and Carl Edwards has been knocking on the door since he joined the series a few years ago. Matt won last fall and Greg won back to back in the fall of 2004 and the spring of 2005. Carl has 4 top 10’s in 5 races at Michigan with 3 of those finishes being top 5’s and a 2nd place finish last spring.

Jeff Gordon has been tough to beat this season no matter where he is running. Steve Latarte made the right call last week at Pocono, giving yet another victory to Jeff. Jeff is the last Chevy driver to win at Michigan and that was way back in 2001. Jeff finished 2nd last fall and will be looking for his 5th victory this season.

Drivers With Potential

Martin Truex Jr. and Casey Mears have both been on the top of their games the last couple of weeks. This is the type of track that these guys excel at. Granted neither of them has been stellar at Michigan but the way they are driving they could surprise people once again this weekend.

Ryan Newman has also been at the top of his game lately and he is also a multiple winner at Michigan. Since winning back to back in 2003 and 2004 at Michigan Ryan has struggles a little bit but the team is rolling right now.

Down On Their Luck

Jimmie Johnson had a lot of trouble at Pocono last weekend and he dropped to 4th in the point standings. His best career finish at Michigan is 4th and he has only 4 top 10 finishes in 10 races here. Never count this team out but this week there are better options for your fantasy team.

Tony Stewart hasn’t won at Michigan in 7 years but has been off and on there since then. He has 5 top 5’s and 2 runner-up finishes since then but he has also finished in the 40’s twice and in the 20’s 3 times. Tony just doesn’t seem like he’s ready to break out yet this season but when he does he will go on a roll similar to last season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has never won at Michigan and has only 4 top 10 finishes there. However 2 of those came last year when Dale finished 3rd and 6th in the two races respectively. It just doesn’t seem like this team has the right components in place to keep the car on the track without having some issue right now. I’m sure that looking for a new team to drive for next year isn’t helping this team out right now.

Neither Kevin Harvick nor Jeff Burton has won at Michigan yet. Kevin came close back in 2003 but other than that the highlights are few and far between for these two drivers. Once again there are going to be better picks for your fantasy team this weekend.